1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and image formation device to be collected for recycling, and to an outer cover attachment structure suitable therefor, and a transportation method of such an apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image formation device constituted as an electronic copier, printer, facsimile or a complex machine comprising at least two of these functions, fixation members are often used for protecting components and units from vibration and protecting these from damage during the transport or storage up to the delivery to the user. These fixation members are to be removed from the fixed locations prior to the user using the image formation device. And, although the delivery people often take home the removed fixation members, the place for housing such members is not determined, and in many cases these members are not taken back and are disposed.
Meanwhile, from the perspective of protecting the environment and effectively using resources in recent years, many of the image formation devices are being recycled. During recycling, the used products are collected from users, cleaning and reproduction processing are performed to the overall product, units and components, and then placed on the market once again with quality assurance. Nevertheless, there are cases where the units or components would be damaged during the collection or transport thereof, and become unsuitable for recycling.
An information formation device capable of housing the fixation means after the delivery thereof has been proposed (for example, c.f. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H10-97114). Still, with this device, the fixation means are limited to those for fixing the scanner unit of the image formation device having an automatic paper feeding device, and this could not be applied to other units that need to be fixed, such as the development unit or intermediate transfer unit.
Further, in the collected machine of a used image formation device, scratches and damages are often found on the outer cover surface. The primary cause of such scratches and damages is because the members and components that should be removed upon collecting the used product from the user are not removed, and, therefore, the convex portions of such components come in contact with the outer cover and the like. Or, workers may consciously damage such components. The damaged outer cover and the like can no longer be reused, and must be replaced. In such a case, the number of components that must be replaced with new components will increase, and the cost for reproducing the product will also increase.
Further, even if the members and components to be removed are removed at the stage of collecting the used image formation device from the market, since there is no container for housing the removed components and screws, there are many cases where the removed members and the like are randomly placed inside the product, which results in scratches or damages to the device, or the loss of small items such as the removed screws and the like. Then, disassembly procedures will become necessary to find the lost screws and the like, which will increase the number of processing steps for reproduction, and the reproduction cost will increase as a result thereof.
Further, with the actual recycling being conducted today, there are many cases where the hook on the inside of the outer cover of the collected machine is damaged. One reason this kind of damage occurs is because the number of joining screws for attaching the outer cover is reduced as much as possible, and a hook system is adopted in place thereof in light of simplifying the attachment, assembly and detachment of the outer cover. In other words, the repairmen who are conducting the maintenance of products operating in the market damage the hook by carelessly applying strong force upon opening the cover. Further, many of the vendors that disassemble the collected machine do not know how to remove the outer cover, or are not familiar with the process, and often damage the hook on the inside of the outer cover. The damaged outer cover and the like can no longer be reused, and must be replaced. In such a case, the number of components that must be replaced with new components will increase, the number of processing steps for reproduction will increase, and the cost for reproducing the product will also increase.
Meanwhile, in order to recycle an image formation device, the image formation device is sent from the user to the collection center, and from the collection center to the reproduction center. Unlike a new product, a reproduced product is not packaged upon its transportation, and is being transported nearly naked. Thus, the adjacent image formation devices would come in contact with each other during the transportation, and the outer cover is easily scratched, and options such as manual paper feed units and double-sided units are easily damaged, and this is becoming a significant hindrance for recycling.